Well my thoughts.
First I think it is a wonderful idea.
Second my gm has 8 people with extrem strong rolls. But that is not that bad.
First of all. Give every opponent max hp. And either add a level or add one or two more mooks. Have a shrine where every goblin prays and get protection from good. +2 to save and +2 to ac can really wreak havoc.
^Not sure what point buy you used for the last campaign or had in mind for this one, but reportedly all APs (released so far) are designed for 15 point buy characters, and just 4 of them, even though nearly every PbP I have followed uses 20 point buy and 5 or more characters(*). Normally 15 point buy would feel a bit icky due to restricting viable character concept space too much (and enforcing dump stats on a lot of the remaining viable character concepts), but since you are setting up the characters, you can work around this. To deal with having 5 characters instead of 4, the simplest thing is probably just to have 25% more enemies in encounters that have multiple enemies of approximately the same CR, more levels/HD (not a huge amount) on single enemies, and some combination thereof in encounters that have a boss with a bunch of minions. If you really want to rework things on the player side instead to compensate for having 5 instead of 4, you could increase the extent to which you build for flavor instead of combat optimization, and this is legitimate since you are thinking of them being performers rather than intentional adventurers, but runs the risk of players feeling that their characters are ineffective. On the other hand, this would be a decent opportunity to design a group that is a B-, C-, or D- team (D-team might actually be too harsh).
(*)They really ought to change the default point buy and number of characters for APs to what most people actually use, and this is probably why PFS reportedly uses 20 point buy instead (not sure if it was always that way or if they adjusted this some time after the start of PFS; not sure of default party size for PFS scenarios, since I am not actually in PFS).
I have been running ROTRL for a group of 5. They're currently on Hook Mountain Massacre. I've been running everything nearly completely as written, and though the group for the most part is able to get the job done well, they have had certain instances throw them for a loop (Thistletop, Xanesha, Fort Rannick.) Five PC deaths so far. XP and wealth are spread thin, yet they seem to be doing well on equipment regardless. So far they're only one level behind the AP's suggested level, and I've used a few sidequests (Boggards in Brinestump, Dawn of the Scarlet Son) to boost them. Also the journey to Turtleback ferry took 3 full sessions of traveler encounters and rolled monster encounters to make the journey feel like an actual journey rather than waived travel time.
If you really want to bolster things, you can always throw in more goblins; that's my favorite method. However, there are plenty of other discussions on these forums about making specific encounters a little tougher, and I think the research is worth the result.
So, I don't know how common or uncommon this is, but my players prefer it if I cast them for my campaigns. What that means is that I present a setting for them, a cast to choose from and brief back stories for the characters they get to choose from. We come from a very "internal conflict heavy" background when it comes to roleplaying and quite a few campaigns have gone south on account of the group simply deciding that they can't work together. To remedy this, they've asked for a reason beyond their control as to why they are striving for the same goal.
Last run at this, they were all from the same generational dwarven family. You had the retired patriarch grandfather, his daughter, the new "leader", her husband and their two children. It worked out pretty well for as long as it did and now it is time to start anew and this time, it is time for RotRL.
What I am considering this run is sort of a Carnivalé (the show) inspired Varisian traveller group. It will be a rather large group composed of around twenty members where the players (4-5 of them) will get to choose from around half of them. The rest will be NPCs of higher level than one who'll all serve some kind of purpose.
The varisians have made camp outside Sandpoint on account of the festival in order to make some coin and to enjoy themselves. They'll get caught up in events and encouraged by their leaders who seem to have a secret agenda as to why aid the town.
Now, I am making this thread because there are a couple of issues I don't know how to tackle.
For example, how should I deal with a group of five players? I had a problem with the Dwarf group where a combination of too many points to buy ability scores and five players made each and every encounter too easy. I am not above having easy encounters, I loathe having encounters for the sake of having encounters because I want a conflict to actually mean something. In this case, they just ended up being a time waste. How do you adjust the game for more than four players?
Some thoughts...
RotRL can be pretty tough, so you shouldn't have too tough a time adjusting encounters - honestly, if you max out boss hit points and keep an 'extra wave' of mooks in your back pocket you should be fine.
The group is going to need a reason 'beyond their control' to get involved in the troubles and actually pursue them, not just around town but all across Varisia. My initial thoughts are twifold - first off, the carnival could be the victims of the goblins, with many of their tents, carts, supplies, etc. set on fire and lost - it won't be until next season until they can 'move on' and that's only if they can get the coin together. The leader of the caravan can 'prompt' them to work with the Mayor and the Sheriff and provide them investigative services in return for the coin they need to get back on their feet, as well as to ingratiate them with the locals. Whether or not that's the real reason is of course up to you. Having a 'boss' they have to answer will go a long way towards getting them all on the same page.
Dwarves are particularly well-wuited to this AP. I like themed groups a great deal, more than those which might be technically 'balanced'. Sounds like you're going to have a lot of fun.
For party cohesion look at which Background/Scenario Traits marry well together (for example, try not to have "shady dealings" trait that does not play well with the other PCs traits?)
Another suggestion is have some of the characters come from Sandpoint but left before the Time of Troubles (so at least 6-10 years gap?), then came back for the festival, possibly bringing other PCs along... they would know most people from the town, and be more invested in the wheres and whyfores of any changes or missing NPCs (hehe) in between. And you have NPCs slightly more likely to trust them if necessary?
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
The varisians have made camp outside Sandpoint on account of the festival in order to make some coin and to enjoy themselves. They'll get caught up in events and encouraged by their leaders who seem to have a secret agenda as to why aid the town.
Being a fan of the Kingkiller Chronicles, I quite like this. Maybe the troupe's soothsayer is getting the same horrible prophecy from her readings over and over again. Maybe the troupe leader also has used a fake Sihedron tattoo to get into Paradise in Turtleneck Ferry and has spotted something fishy. The troupe's illusionist could be a nerd for any Thassilonnian magic or one of the bards wants to use 'forbidden' source material for a play, similar to Kvothe's father and will be the first victim of book 2's murders...
I suggest drawing a clear line between those in the know (maybe the parents) and the player characters (their children?). Maybe don't make them choose their characters directly but choose who should be their parents...
There could very well be a retired troupe member living in Magnimar (jailbreak maybe? :) ), Turtleneck Ferry or even amongst the rangers.
^I like those ideas -- the troupe you are with (that is, the members of it other than the PCs) isn't just trying to get on with things, but actually takes an interest in the campaign itself.
Another thought I had is that since you are designing the characters, feel free to rework the Campaign Traits. As written, some Campaign Traits just aren't very good, and then occasionally you run across one that is totally brokenly overpowered (the latter not in Rise of the Runelords, but definitely in Legacy of Fire).
^Well, I can't claim to be an expert, but I have been following a LOT of PbPs on these boards (lurking), and for you (not the original poster, who is already fine), the party isn't necessarily in terrible shape as it is. Looking at it from the point of view of The Forge of Combat (not necessarily the final word on everything, but still useful with the Anvil, Arm, and Hammer metaphors).
Bloodrager: Heavy martial hitter who brings minor arcane casting to the table. Generally dedicated Hammer, but at level 4 starts to get a little bit of potential for Arm and Anvil.
Hunter: Light martial hitter and skill monkey (yes, you already do have a skill monkey) who brings moderate nature-divine casting and (probably) an Animal Companion to the table. Mostly hybrid of Hammer and Arm, while the Animal Companion is mostly a Hammer.
Slayer: Heavy martial hitter and skill monkey (yes, you already do have a skill monkey). Mostly Hammer, but can do some Anvil work.
Witch: Your only 9/9 spellcaster, who is arcane but fortunately can do some spellcasting work equivalent to a divine spellcaster -- and Hexes can be awesome (which is a good thing, because you will be short on spells). Mostly Anvil, but can do some pretty good Arm work. That said, without wanting to spoil things, a primarily Anvil Witch will be VERY good later on in the AP, as well as in boss fights in general -- just watch out for running out of spells, and make sure to prepare the right ones in the first place (as well as selecting the right Hexes).
So, even though your group doesn't have a full set of traditional Arm (Cleric), Anvil (Wizard), and Hammer (Fighter and Rogue) classes, you're not necessarily in bad shape even with the group as it is, depending upon particular builds and tactics. Nevertheless, the current group is not an A-team, because your 9/9 spellcasting load is all on one character, the Witch, although fortunately your Hunter can get your Witch back up in case of a KO, and vice-versa, so this isn't terrible -- you just have to be extra careful.
If you are going to add a 5th character, I would say that your group is a bit low on Arm capability (and a bit high on Hammer capability), and then next lowest on Anvil capability. Several classes could fulfill this role, so I can't make a definitive recommendation, and it also depends a lot upon the build that your Witch went with (Hexes make a big difference, and despite Patrons being just lists of bonus spells with not much roleplaying flavor, they make a big difference also). Bard is easiest to think of if your Witch is built to cover the divine spellcasting role (Arm, even though Witch spellcasting is technically arcane), and Bard gives you another skill monkey if you really need it, and even within the Bard class, the sheer number of archetypes gives an amazing number of choices even if a majority of them aren't necessarily great, but that is definitely not the final word. Evangelist Cleric also comes to mind -- has pretty good Bardic Performance capabilities (at the cost of weakening Channeling), but also gives you 9/9 divine spellcasting (especially useful if your Witch didn't build to substitute for a divine spellcaster). A regular Cleric would also work fine for this -- no Bardic performance, but can still buff (Arm), and full Channeling is nice to have. Oracles can make good Cleric substitutes (no Bardic Performance unless somebody goes VMC Bard, though), and an Oracle of Life can even give you full Channeling; some Oracle Revelations are awesome, and Oracle Mystery Bonus Spells can even make Oracles work more like Sorcerers than you would expect just from the 9/9 spontaneous spellcasting. People on these boards say good things about Shamans (including getting hybrid arcane/divine spellcasting), and they are probably right, but I have yet to wrap my head around the Shaman class, despite reading a guide on it, so I can't help you with that one. Likewise, the Psychic classes are too new, although I see some interesting things in them (although I suspect probably not what you want for this particular party slot).
Also keep in mind that Paizo Adventure Paths are designed for parties of 4 characters with 15 point buy, although in practice most PbPs seem to use parties of 5 characters with 20 point buy, so even though Rise of the Runelords has a reputation on these boards of being one of the tougher APs, your party will probably be fine. (They really should change the default assumption about party size and point buy to match the most common actual practice; PFS already uses 20 point buy.)